This invention relates to women""s apparel, and more specifically to a nursing bib for use with outerwear that provides the type of privacy a mother desires while she attends to the details of nursing her baby in a public setting.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,953 for NURSING SHAWL issued Jan. 17, 1989 to Roger S. Dameron. Dameron""s nursing shawl is intended to be used with conventional outerwear and is easily adaptable to provide privacy for a mother nursing her baby in a public place.
The nursing bib of this invention has the same attributes as Dameron""s shawl, yet provides more of the privacy a mother desires, with dual layers of protection, while she prepares for nursing and nurses the baby in a public setting. After the nursing, the mother can easily remove the nursing bib from her dress or other outerwear she is wearing, pack it with the rest of the baby""s paraphernalia, and do as she pleases. The nursing bib of this invention is clearly an improvement over Dameron.
As noted in the Dameron patent, the nursing garments in many prior patents are not suitable to be worn over the mother""s clothes, restricting their use to the home. Alternatively, certain prior art nursing garments are designed as outerwear but they must be worn in lieu of more conventional outerwear. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 621,761; Pat. No. 4,106,122; Pat. No. 4,468,816; Pat. No. 4,567,611; and Pat. No. 4,601,068. See also the more recently issued U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,528, to Trombetti-Dickson, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 309,522 to Merritt, and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 359,838 to Laseinde.
None of the prior art patents relating to nursing garments provide the privacy and convenience of use in public that is provided by the nursing bib of this invention.
The nursing bib of this invention is small enough to be easily carried with a baby""s paraphernalia and easily positioned over conventional outerwear, and removed, when desired. The nursing bib is available in different sizes for women of different sizes.
All sizes of the nursing bib are made alike, preferably from an easily handled fabric such as a tightly woven flannel. Each size includes three components: (1) a body portion, (2) a panel that the user can adjust to either form an opening for one breast or to cover the breasts, and (3) either one or two flaps hanging freely from the body portion and over the panel to provide a second layer of protection. The flap(s) provide privacy by hiding from the public the mother""s adjustment of the panel to first expose a breast for nursing and to then adjust the panel to cover the breasts after the nursing. A loop extends from the body portion to be placed over the head and around the neck of a user before she nurses a baby.